Polarized reflective pinhole mirror display

ABSTRACT

A see-through display including a polarized reflective pinhole mirror display. The pinhole mirror display includes a plurality of tiny switchable polarized mirrors. The respective polarized mirrors individually reflect impinging light from an illuminator, and guide the respective portion of light into a pupil of an eye. A reflective optically powered surface reflects light from the illuminator. Each mirror has a first polarization and reflects a portion of light and produces a picture element (pixel) that forms a virtual image seen by the eye of the user. A user may view the reflected virtual image having the first polarization from the illuminator, as well as the image from the real world via a rear substrate that has a second polarization. Although the mirrors are very small, human eyes can still detect the mirrors if they are not polarized. The mirrors and other components are polarized so that the eye can see the real world filtered with the second polarization, but not the mirrors having a different first polarization.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 62/908,275 entitled POLARIZED REFLECTIVE PINHOLE MIRROR DISPLAY,filed on Sep. 30, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated fullyherein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present subject matter relates to an eyewear device, e.g., smartglasses and see-through displays.

BACKGROUND

Portable eyewear devices, such as smart glasses, headwear, and headgearavailable today integrate cameras and see-through displays. Someconventional see-through displays use reflective pinhole mirror displaysystems including mirrors that are apparent to the wearer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawing figures depict one or more implementations, by way ofexample only, not by way of limitations. In the figures, like referencenumerals refer to the same or similar elements.

FIG. 1A is a side view of an example hardware configuration of aneyewear device, which shows a right optical assembly with an imagedisplay, and field of view adjustments are applied to a user interfacepresented on the image display based on detected head or eye movement bya user;

FIG. 1B is a top cross-sectional view of a temple of the eyewear deviceof FIG. 1A depicting a visible light camera, a head movement tracker fortracking the head movement of the user of the eyewear device, and acircuit board;

FIG. 2A is a rear view of an example hardware configuration of aneyewear device, which includes an eye scanner on a frame, for use in asystem for identifying a user of the eyewear device;

FIG. 2B is a rear view of an example hardware configuration of anothereyewear device, which includes an eye scanner on a temple, for use in asystem for identifying a user of the eyewear device;

FIGS. 2C and 2D are rear views of example hardware configurations of theeyewear device, including two different types of image displays;

FIG. 3 shows a rear perspective view of the eyewear device of FIG. 2Adepicting an infrared emitter, an infrared camera, a frame front, aframe back, and a circuit board;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken through the infrared emitter andthe frame of the eyewear device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 illustrates detecting eye gaze direction;

FIG. 6 illustrates detecting eye position;

FIG. 7 depicts an example of visible light captured by the left visiblelight camera as a left raw image and visible light captured by the rightvisible light camera as a right raw image;

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B illustrate examples of a polarized reflectivepinhole mirror display;

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of electronic components of theeyewear device; and

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the operation of the polarized reflectivepinhole mirror display.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A see-through display including a polarized reflective pinhole mirrordisplay. The pinhole mirror display includes a plurality of tinypolarized mirrors. The respective polarization sensitive mirrorsindividually reflect impinging light from an image generator, such as adisplay or projector, that produces an image, and guide the respectiveportion of light into a pupil of an eye. A reflective optically poweredsurface reflects light to the polarized mirrors. Each mirror isreflective to a first polarization and reflects a portion of light fromthe display/projector and produces a picture element that forms avirtual image seen by the eye of the user. A user may view the reflectedvirtual image having the first polarization from the display/projector,as well as the image from the real world via a rear substrate that has asecond polarization. Although the mirrors are very small, human eyes canstill detect the mirrors because they block some portion of the realworld light. The mirrors and other components are polarization sensitiveso that the eye can see the real world filtered with the secondpolarization, but the mirrors reflect the image at the different firstpolarization.

Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the examples willbe set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of thefollowing and the accompanying drawings or may be learned by productionor operation of the examples. The objects and advantages of the presentsubject matter may be realized and attained by means of themethodologies, instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointedout in the appended claims.

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe relevant teachings. However, it should be apparent to those skilledin the art that the present teachings may be practiced without suchdetails. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components,and circuitry have been described at a relatively high-level, withoutdetail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the presentteachings.

The term “coupled” as used herein refers to any logical, optical,physical or electrical connection, link or the like by which signals orlight produced or supplied by one system element are imparted to anothercoupled element. Unless described otherwise, coupled elements or devicesare not necessarily directly connected to one another and may beseparated by intermediate components, elements or communication mediathat may modify, manipulate or carry the light or signals.

The orientations of the eyewear device, associated components and anycomplete devices incorporating an eye scanner and camera such as shownin any of the drawings, are given by way of example only, forillustration and discussion purposes. In operation for a particularvariable optical processing application, the eyewear device may beoriented in any other direction suitable to the particular applicationof the eyewear device, for example up, down, sideways, or any otherorientation. Also, to the extent used herein, any directional term, suchas front, rear, inwards, outwards, towards, left, right, lateral,longitudinal, up, down, upper, lower, top, bottom and side, are used byway of example only, and are not limiting as to direction or orientationof any optic or component of an optic constructed as otherwise describedherein.

Reference now is made in detail to the examples illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and discussed below.

FIG. 1A is a side view of an example hardware configuration of aneyewear device 100, which includes a right optical assembly 180B with animage display 180D (FIG. 2A). Eyewear device 100 includes multiplevisible light cameras 114A-B (FIG. 7) that form a stereo camera, ofwhich the right visible light camera 114B is located on a right temple110B.

The left and right visible light cameras 114A-B have an image sensorthat is sensitive to the visible light range wavelength. Each of thevisible light cameras 114A-B have a different frontward facing angle ofcoverage, for example, visible light camera 114B has the depicted angleof coverage 111B. The angle of coverage is an angle range which theimage sensor of the visible light camera 114A-B picks up electromagneticradiation and generates images. Examples of such visible lights camera114A-B include a high-resolution complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor(CMOS) image sensor and a video graphic array (VGA) camera, such as 640p(e.g., 640×480 pixels for a total of 0.3 megapixels), 720p, or 1080p.Image sensor data from the visible light cameras 114A-B are capturedalong with geolocation data, digitized by an image processor, and storedin a memory.

To provide stereoscopic vision, visible light cameras 114A-B may becoupled to an image processor (element 912 of FIG. 9) for digitalprocessing along with a timestamp in which the image of the scene iscaptured. Image processor 912 includes circuitry to receive signals fromthe visible light camera 114A-B and process those signals from thevisible light cameras 114A-B into a format suitable for storage in thememory (element 934 of FIG. 9). The timestamp can be added by the imageprocessor 912 or other processor, which controls operation of thevisible light cameras 114A-B. Visible light cameras 114A-B allow thestereo camera to simulate human binocular vision. Stereo cameras providethe ability to reproduce three-dimensional images (element 715 of FIG.7) based on two captured images (elements 758A-B of FIG. 7) from thevisible light cameras 114A-B, respectively, having the same timestamp.Such three-dimensional images 715 allow for an immersive life-likeexperience, e.g., for virtual reality or video gaming. For stereoscopicvision, the pair of images 758A-B are generated at a given moment intime—one image for each of the left and right visible light cameras114A-B. When the pair of generated images 758A-B from the frontwardfacing angles of coverage 111A-B of the left and right visible lightcameras 114A-B are stitched together (e.g., by the image processor 912),depth perception is provided by the optical assembly 180A-B.

In an example, a user interface field of view adjustment system includesthe eyewear device 100. The eyewear device 100 includes a frame 105, aright temple 110B extending from a right lateral side 170B of the frame105, and a see-through image display 180D (FIGS. 2A-B) comprisingoptical assembly 180B to present a graphical user interface to a user.The eyewear device 100 includes the left visible light camera 114Aconnected to the frame 105 or the left temple 110A to capture a firstimage of the scene. Eyewear device 100 further includes the rightvisible light camera 114B connected to the frame 105 or the right temple110B to capture (e.g., simultaneously with the left visible light camera114A) a second image of the scene which partially overlaps the firstimage. Although not shown in FIGS. 1A-B, the user interface field ofview adjustment system further includes the processor 932 coupled to theeyewear device 100 and connected to the visible light cameras 114A-B,the memory 934 accessible to the processor 932, and programming in thememory 934, for example in the eyewear device 100 itself or another partof the user interface field of view adjustment system.

Although not shown in FIG. 1A, the eyewear device 100 also includes ahead movement tracker (element 109 of FIG. 1B) or an eye movementtracker (element 213 of FIG. 2B). Eyewear device 100 further includesthe see-through image displays 180C-D of optical assembly 180A-B forpresenting a sequence of displayed images, and an image display driver(element 942 of FIG. 9) coupled to the see-through image displays 180C-Dof optical assembly 180A-B to control the image displays 180C-D ofoptical assembly 180A-B to present the sequence of displayed images 715,which are described in further detail below. Eyewear device 100 furtherincludes the memory 934 and the processor 932 having access to the imagedisplay driver 942 and the memory 934. Eyewear device 100 furtherincludes programming (element 934 of FIG. 9) in the memory. Execution ofthe programming by the processor 932 configures the eyewear device 100to perform functions, including functions to present, via thesee-through image displays 180C-D, an initial displayed image of thesequence of displayed images, the initial displayed image having aninitial field of view corresponding to an initial head direction or aninitial eye gaze direction (element 230 of FIG. 5).

Execution of the programming by the processor 932 further configures theeyewear device 100 to detect movement of a user of the eyewear deviceby: (i) tracking, via the head movement tracker (element 109 of FIG.1B), a head movement of a head of the user, or (ii) tracking, via an eyemovement tracker (element 213 of FIG. 2B, FIG. 5), an eye movement of aneye of the user of the eyewear device 100. Execution of the programmingby the processor 932 further configures the eyewear device 100 todetermine a field of view adjustment to the initial field of view of theinitial displayed image based on the detected movement of the user. Thefield of view adjustment includes a successive field of viewcorresponding to a successive head direction or a successive eyedirection. Execution of the programming by the processor 932 furtherconfigures the eyewear device 100 to generate a successive displayedimage of the sequence of displayed images based on the field of viewadjustment. Execution of the programming by the processor 932 furtherconfigures the eyewear device 100 to present, via the see-through imagedisplays 180C-D of the optical assembly 180A-B, the successive displayedimages.

FIG. 1B is a top cross-sectional view of the temple of the eyeweardevice 100 of FIG. 1A depicting the right visible light camera 114B, ahead movement tracker 109, and a circuit board. Construction andplacement of the left visible light camera 114A is substantially similarto the right visible light camera 114B, except the connections andcoupling are on the left lateral side 170A. As shown, the eyewear device100 includes the right visible light camera 114B and a circuit board,which may be a flexible printed circuit board (PCB) 140. The right hinge126B connects the right temple 110B to a right temple 125B of theeyewear device 100. In some examples, components of the right visiblelight camera 114B, the flexible PCB 140, or other electrical connectorsor contacts may be located on the right temple 125B or the right hinge126B.

As shown, eyewear device 100 has a head movement tracker 109, whichincludes, for example, an inertial measurement unit (IMU). An inertialmeasurement unit is an electronic device that measures and reports abody's specific force, angular rate, and sometimes the magnetic fieldsurrounding the body, using a combination of accelerometers andgyroscopes, sometimes also magnetometers. The inertial measurement unitworks by detecting linear acceleration using one or more accelerometersand rotational rate using one or more gyroscopes. Typical configurationsof inertial measurement units contain one accelerometer, gyro, andmagnetometer per axis for each of the three axes: horizontal axis forleft-right movement (X), vertical axis (Y) for top-bottom movement, anddepth or distance axis for up-down movement (Z). The accelerometerdetects the gravity vector. The magnetometer defines the rotation in themagnetic field (e.g., facing south, north, etc.) like a compass whichgenerates a heading reference. The three accelerometers to detectacceleration along the horizontal, vertical, and depth axis definedabove, which can be defined relative to the ground, the eyewear device100, or the user wearing the eyewear device 100.

Eyewear device 100 detects movement of the user of the eyewear device100 by tracking, via the head movement tracker 109, the head movement ofthe head of the user. The head movement includes a variation of headdirection on a horizontal axis, a vertical axis, or a combinationthereof from the initial head direction during presentation of theinitial displayed image on the image display. In one example, tracking,via the head movement tracker 109, the head movement of the head of theuser includes measuring, via the inertial measurement unit 109, theinitial head direction on the horizontal axis (e.g., X axis), thevertical axis (e.g., Y axis), or the combination thereof (e.g.,transverse or diagonal movement). Tracking, via the head movementtracker 109, the head movement of the head of the user further includesmeasuring, via the inertial measurement unit 109, a successive headdirection on the horizontal axis, the vertical axis, or the combinationthereof during presentation of the initial displayed image.

Tracking, via the head movement tracker 109, the head movement of thehead of the user further includes determining the variation of headdirection based on both the initial head direction and the successivehead direction. Detecting movement of the user of the eyewear device 100further includes in response to tracking, via the head movement tracker109, the head movement of the head of the user, determining that thevariation of head direction exceeds a deviation angle threshold on thehorizontal axis, the vertical axis, or the combination thereof. Thedeviation angle threshold is between about 3° to 10°. As used herein,the term “about” when referring to an angle means±10% from the statedamount.

Variation along the horizontal axis slides three-dimensional objects,such as characters, Bitmojis, application icons, etc. in and out of thefield of view by, for example, hiding, unhiding, or otherwise adjustingvisibility of the three-dimensional object. Variation along the verticalaxis, for example, when the user looks upwards, in one example, displaysweather information, time of day, date, calendar appointments, etc. Inanother example, when the user looks downwards on the vertical axis, theeyewear device 100 may power down.

The right temple 110B includes temple body 211 and a temple cap, withthe temple cap omitted in the cross-section of FIG. 1B. Disposed insidethe right temple 110B are various interconnected circuit boards, such asPCBs or flexible PCBs, that include controller circuits for rightvisible light camera 114B, microphone(s) 130, speaker(s) 132, low-powerwireless circuitry (e.g., for wireless short-range network communicationvia Bluetooth™), high-speed wireless circuitry (e.g., for wireless localarea network communication via WiFi).

The right visible light camera 114B is coupled to or disposed on theflexible PCB 240 and covered by a visible light camera cover lens, whichis aimed through opening(s) formed in the right temple 110B. In someexamples, the frame 105 connected to the right temple 110B includes theopening(s) for the visible light camera cover lens. The frame 105includes a front-facing side configured to face outwards away from theeye of the user. The opening for the visible light camera cover lens isformed on and through the front-facing side. In the example, the rightvisible light camera 114B has an outwards facing angle of coverage 111Bwith a line of sight or perspective of the right eye of the user of theeyewear device 100. The visible light camera cover lens can also beadhered to an outwards facing surface of the right temple 110B in whichan opening is formed with an outwards facing angle of coverage, but in adifferent outwards direction. The coupling can also be indirect viaintervening components.

Left (first) visible light camera 114A is connected to the leftsee-through image display 180C of left optical assembly 180A to generatea first background scene of a first successive displayed image. Theright (second) visible light camera 114B is connected to the rightsee-through image display 180D of right optical assembly 180B togenerate a second background scene of a second successive displayedimage. The first background scene and the second background scenepartially overlap to present a three-dimensional observable area of thesuccessive displayed image.

Flexible PCB 140 is disposed inside the right temple 110B and is coupledto one or more other components housed in the right temple 110B.Although shown as being formed on the circuit boards of the right temple110B, the right visible light camera 114B can be formed on the circuitboards of the left temple 110A, the temples 125A-B, or frame 105.

FIG. 2A is a rear view of an example hardware configuration of aneyewear device 100, which includes an eye scanner 113 on a frame 105,for use in a system for determining an eye position and gaze directionof a wearer/user of the eyewear device 100. As shown in FIG. 2A, theeyewear device 100 is in a form configured for wearing by a user, whichare eyeglasses in the example of FIG. 2A. The eyewear device 100 cantake other forms and may incorporate other types of frameworks, forexample, a headgear, a headset, or a helmet.

In the eyeglasses example, eyewear device 100 includes the frame 105which includes the left rim 107A connected to the right rim 107B via thebridge 106 adapted for a nose of the user. The left and right rims107A-B include respective apertures 175A-B which hold the respectiveoptical element 180A-B, such as a lens and the see-through displays180C-D. As used herein, the term lens is meant to cover transparent ortranslucent pieces of glass or plastic having curved and flat surfacesthat cause light to converge/diverge or that cause little or noconvergence/divergence.

Although shown as having two optical elements 180A-B, the eyewear device100 can include other arrangements, such as a single optical elementdepending on the application or intended user of the eyewear device 100.As further shown, eyewear device 100 includes the left temple 110Aadjacent the left lateral side 170A of the frame 105 and the righttemple 110B adjacent the right lateral side 170B of the frame 105. Thetemples 110A-B may be integrated into the frame 105 on the respectivesides 170A-B (as illustrated) or implemented as separate componentsattached to the frame 105 on the respective sides 170A-B. Alternatively,the temples 110A-B may be integrated into temples (not shown) attachedto the frame 105.

In the example of FIG. 2A, the eye scanner 113 includes an infraredemitter 115 and an infrared camera 120. Visible light cameras typicallyinclude a blue light filter to block infrared light detection, in anexample, the infrared camera 120 is a visible light camera, such as alow-resolution video graphic array (VGA) camera (e.g., 640×480 pixelsfor a total of 0.3 megapixels), with the blue filter removed. Theinfrared emitter 115 and the infrared camera 120 are co-located on theframe 105, for example, both are shown as connected to the upper portionof the left rim 107A. The frame 105 or one or more of the left and righttemples 110A-B include a circuit board (not shown) that includes theinfrared emitter 115 and the infrared camera 120. The infrared emitter115 and the infrared camera 120 can be connected to the circuit board bysoldering, for example.

Other arrangements of the infrared emitter 115 and infrared camera 120can be implemented, including arrangements in which the infrared emitter115 and infrared camera 120 are both on the right rim 107B, or indifferent locations on the frame 105, for example, the infrared emitter115 is on the left rim 107A and the infrared camera 120 is on the rightrim 107B. In another example, the infrared emitter 115 is on the frame105 and the infrared camera 120 is on one of the temples 110A-B, or viceversa. The infrared emitter 115 can be connected essentially anywhere onthe frame 105, left temple 110A, or right temple 110B to emit a patternof infrared light. Similarly, the infrared camera 120 can be connectedessentially anywhere on the frame 105, left temple 110A, or right temple110B to capture at least one reflection variation in the emitted patternof infrared light.

The infrared emitter 115 and infrared camera 120 are arranged to faceinwards towards an eye of the user with a partial or full field of viewof the eye in order to identify the respective eye position and gazedirection. For example, the infrared emitter 115 and infrared camera 120are positioned directly in front of the eye, in the upper part of theframe 105 or in the temples 110A-B at either ends of the frame 105.

FIG. 2B is a rear view of an example hardware configuration of anothereyewear device 200. In this example configuration, the eyewear device200 is depicted as including an eye scanner 213 on a right temple 210B.As shown, an infrared emitter 215 and an infrared camera 220 areco-located on the right temple 210B. It should be understood that theeye scanner 213 or one or more components of the eye scanner 213 can belocated on the left temple 210A and other locations of the eyeweardevice 200, for example, the frame 105. The infrared emitter 215 andinfrared camera 220 are like that of FIG. 2A, but the eye scanner 213can be varied to be sensitive to different light wavelengths asdescribed previously in FIG. 2A.

Similar to FIG. 2A, the eyewear device 200 includes a frame 105 whichincludes a left rim 107A which is connected to a right rim 107B via abridge 106; and the left and right rims 107A-B include respectiveapertures which hold the respective optical elements 180A-B comprisingthe see-through display 180C-D.

FIGS. 2C-D are rear views of example hardware configurations of theeyewear device 100, including two different types of see-through imagedisplays 180C-D. In one example, these see-through image displays 180C-Dof optical assembly 180A-B include an integrated image display. As shownin FIG. 2C, the optical assemblies 180A-B includes a suitable displaymatrix 180C-D of any suitable type, such as a liquid crystal display(LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, a waveguidedisplay, or any other such display. The optical assembly 180A-B alsoincludes an optical layer or layers 176, which can include lenses,optical coatings, prisms, mirrors, waveguides, optical strips, and otheroptical components in any combination. The optical layers 176A-N caninclude a prism having a suitable size and configuration and including afirst surface for receiving light from display matrix and a secondsurface for emitting light to the eye of the user. The prism of theoptical layers 176A-N extends over all or at least a portion of therespective apertures 175A-B formed in the left and right rims 107A-B topermit the user to see the second surface of the prism when the eye ofthe user is viewing through the corresponding left and right rims107A-B. The first surface of the prism of the optical layers 176A-Nfaces upwardly from the frame 105 and the display matrix overlies theprism so that photons and light emitted by the display matrix impingethe first surface. The prism is sized and shaped so that the light isrefracted within the prism and is directed towards the eye of the userby the second surface of the prism of the optical layers 176A-N. In thisregard, the second surface of the prism of the optical layers 176A-N canbe convex to direct the light towards the center of the eye. The prismcan optionally be sized and shaped to magnify the image projected by thesee-through image displays 180C-D, and the light travels through theprism so that the image viewed from the second surface is larger in oneor more dimensions than the image emitted from the see-through imagedisplays 180C-D.

In another example, the see-through image displays 180C-D of opticalassembly 180A-B include a projection image display as shown in FIG. 2D.The optical assembly 180A-B includes a laser projector 150, which is athree-color laser projector using a scanning mirror or galvanometer.During operation, an optical source such as a laser projector 150 isdisposed in or on one of the temples 125A-B of the eyewear device 100.Optical assembly 180-B includes one or more optical strips 155A-N spacedapart across the width of the lens of the optical assembly 180A-B oracross a depth of the lens between the front surface and the rearsurface of the lens.

As the photons projected by the laser projector 150 travel across thelens of the optical assembly 180A-B, the photons encounter the opticalstrips 155A-N. When a particular photon encounters a particular opticalstrip, the photon is either redirected towards the user's eye, or itpasses to the next optical strip. A combination of modulation of laserprojector 150, and modulation of optical strips, may control specificphotons or beams of light. In an example, a processor controls opticalstrips 155A-N by initiating mechanical, acoustic, or electromagneticsignals. Although shown as having two optical assemblies 180A-B, theeyewear device 100 can include other arrangements, such as a single orthree optical assemblies, or the optical assembly 180A-B may havearranged different arrangement depending on the application or intendeduser of the eyewear device 100.

As further shown in FIGS. 2C-D, eyewear device 100 includes a lefttemple 110A adjacent the left lateral side 170A of the frame 105 and aright temple 110B adjacent the right lateral side 170B of the frame 105.The temples 110A-B may be integrated into the frame 105 on therespective lateral sides 170A-B (as illustrated) or implemented asseparate components attached to the frame 105 on the respective sides170A-B. Alternatively, the temples 110A-B may be integrated into temples125A-B attached to the frame 105.

In one example, the see-through image displays include the firstsee-through image display 180C and the second see-through image display180D. Eyewear device 100 includes first and second apertures 175A-Bwhich hold the respective first and second optical assembly 180A-B. Thefirst optical assembly 180A includes the first see-through image display180C (e.g., a display matrix of FIG. 2C or optical strips 155A-N′ and aprojector 150A). The second optical assembly 180B includes the secondsee-through image display 180D e.g., a display matrix of FIG. 2C oroptical strips 155A-N″ and a projector 150B). The successive field ofview of the successive displayed image includes an angle of view betweenabout 15° to 30, and more specifically 24°, measured horizontally,vertically, or diagonally. The successive displayed image having thesuccessive field of view represents a combined three-dimensionalobservable area visible through stitching together of two displayedimages presented on the first and second image displays.

As used herein, “an angle of view” describes the angular extent of thefield of view associated with the displayed images presented on each ofthe left and right image displays 180C-D of optical assembly 180A-B. The“angle of coverage” describes the angle range that a lens of visiblelight cameras 114A-B or infrared camera 220 can image. Typically, theimage circle produced by a lens is large enough to cover the film orsensor completely, possibly including some vignetting (i.e., a reductionof an image's brightness or saturation toward the periphery compared tothe image center). If the angle of coverage of the lens does not fillthe sensor, the image circle will be visible, typically with strongvignetting toward the edge, and the effective angle of view will belimited to the angle of coverage. The “field of view” is intended todescribe the field of observable area which the user of the eyeweardevice 100 can see through his or her eyes via the displayed imagespresented on the left and right image displays 180C-D of the opticalassembly 180A-B. Image display 180C of optical assembly 180A-B can havea field of view with an angle of coverage between 15° to 30°, forexample 24°, and have a resolution of 480×480 pixels.

FIG. 3 shows a rear perspective view of the eyewear device of FIG. 2A.The eyewear device 100 includes an infrared emitter 215, infrared camera220, a frame front 330, a frame back 335, and a circuit board 340. Itcan be seen in FIG. 3 that the upper portion of the left rim of theframe of the eyewear device 100 includes the frame front 330 and theframe back 335. An opening for the infrared emitter 215 is formed on theframe back 335.

As shown in the encircled cross-section 4 in the upper middle portion ofthe left rim of the frame, a circuit board, which is a flexible PCB 340,is sandwiched between the frame front 330 and the frame back 335. Alsoshown in further detail is the attachment of the left temple 110A to theleft temple 325A via the left hinge 126A. In some examples, componentsof the eye movement tracker 213, including the infrared emitter 215, theflexible PCB 340, or other electrical connectors or contacts may belocated on the left temple 325A or the left hinge 126A.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view through the infrared emitter 215 andthe frame corresponding to the encircled cross-section 4 of the eyeweardevice of FIG. 3. Multiple layers of the eyewear device 100 areillustrated in the cross-section of FIG. 4, as shown the frame includesthe frame front 330 and the frame back 335. The flexible PCB 340 isdisposed on the frame front 330 and connected to the frame back 335. Theinfrared emitter 215 is disposed on the flexible PCB 340 and covered byan infrared emitter cover lens 445. For example, the infrared emitter215 is reflowed to the back of the flexible PCB 340. Reflowing attachesthe infrared emitter 215 to contact pad(s) formed on the back of theflexible PCB 340 by subjecting the flexible PCB 340 to controlled heatwhich melts a solder paste to connect the two components. In oneexample, reflowing is used to surface mount the infrared emitter 215 onthe flexible PCB 340 and electrically connect the two components.However, it should be understood that through-holes can be used toconnect leads from the infrared emitter 215 to the flexible PCB 340 viainterconnects, for example.

The frame back 335 includes an infrared emitter opening 450 for theinfrared emitter cover lens 445. The infrared emitter opening 450 isformed on a rear-facing side of the frame back 335 that is configured toface inwards towards the eye of the user. In the example, the flexiblePCB 340 can be connected to the frame front 330 via the flexible PCBadhesive 460. The infrared emitter cover lens 445 can be connected tothe frame back 335 via infrared emitter cover lens adhesive 455. Thecoupling can also be indirect via intervening components.

In an example, the processor 932 utilizes eye tracker 213 to determinean eye gaze direction 230 of a wearer's eye 234 as shown in FIG. 5, andan eye position 236 of the wearer's eye 234 within an eyebox as shown inFIG. 6. The eye tracker 213 is a scanner which uses infrared lightillumination (e.g., near-infrared, short-wavelength infrared,mid-wavelength infrared, long-wavelength infrared, or far infrared) tocaptured image of reflection variations of infrared light from the eye234 to determine the gaze direction 230 of a pupil 232 of the eye 234,and also the eye position 236 with respect to the see-through display180D.

FIG. 7 depicts an example of capturing visible light with cameras.Visible light is captured by the left visible light camera 114A with aleft visible light camera field of view 111A as a left raw image 758A.Visible light is captured by the right visible light camera 114B with aright visible light camera field of view 111B as a right raw image 758B.Based on processing of the left raw image 758A and the right raw image758B, a three-dimensional depth map 715 of a three-dimensional scene,referred to hereafter as an image, is generated by processor 932.

FIG. 8A illustrates an example of a see-through display 180C/180D. Inone example, each see-through display 180C/180D includes a polarizedreflective pinhole mirror display 800. The pinhole mirror display 800includes a plurality of polarized tiny mirrors 802 located in therespective optical element 180A and 180B. The respective polarizedmirrors 802 individually reflect impinging unpolarized light 804 from animage generator 806, such as a micro display/projector, positioned on anupper end within the display 800. The mirrors 802 guide the respectivereflected polarized portion of light into pupil 232 of eye 234. Areflective optically powered surface 808, such as a curved mirror,reflects unpolarized light 804 that is reflected from a front substrate810, as shown. Basically, each mirror 802 is polarized to reflect aportion of light 804 at a first polarization through the front substrate810 and produce a picture element that forms a virtual image 812 seen bythe eye 234 of the user. A user may view the reflected virtual image 812having the first polarization from the display/projector 806, as well asthe image 814 from the real world via a rear combiner substrate 816 thathas a second different polarization forming respective optical element180A and 180B, as shown in FIG. 2A. Although the mirrors 802 are verysmall, human eyes can still detect the mirrors 802 if they are notpolarized. A simple pinhole mirror display using only unpolarized lightand visible unpolarized mirrors is available from LetinAR of Seoul,South Korea. According to this disclosure, the mirrors 806 and othercomponents are polarized so that the eye can see the real world filteredwith the second polarization, but not the mirrors 802 having a differentfirst polarization.

Each element of the display 800 is selected to be polarization sensitivein order to achieve certain desirable system characteristics. Themirrors 802 are made or treated with polarization sensitive materialshaving the first polarization, while the display/projector 806 mayoptionally be designed to emit polarized light also having the firstpolarization. The combiner substrate 816 is treated with polarizationsensitive materials having the second polarization. Thus, the user cansee the virtual image 812 having a first polarization produced by themirrors 802, and also the real world image 814 where light passesthrough the rear combiner substrate 816 having a second polarization.

An example technology that may be used to make the mirrors 802polarization sensitive is a wire grid polarizer which can act as apolarized beam splitter. Wire grid polarizers are ideal for applicationsthat need high extinction ratios, high operating temperatures, or widebandwidth ranges from the Ultraviolet (UV) to the Infrared (IR). Thewire grid polarizers polarize the light by transmitting only a specificpolarization state. The wire grid polarizer includes an array ofmicroscopic wires on a glass substrate which selectively transmitP-Polarized light while reflecting S-Polarized light. An exampletechnology that may be used to treat the combiner substrate 816 is anabsorptive polarizer, such as available from Polaroid® Corporation ofMinnetonka, Minn.

FIG. 8B illustrates another example of a see-through display 180C/180D,where like numerals refer to like elements. In this example, eachsee-through display 180C/180D includes a polarized reflective pinholemirror display 820. The pinhole mirror display 820 includes theplurality of polarized tiny mirrors 802 located in the respectiveoptical element 180A and 180B. The respective polarized mirrors 802individually reflect impinging unpolarized light 804 from thedisplay/projector 806 positioned on an upper end within the display 820.The mirrors 802 guide the respective reflected polarized portion oflight forming the virtual image 812 into pupil 232 of eye 234. Theoptically powered surface 808, such as a curved mirror, is positioned infront of the display/projector 806 and directs the unpolarized light 804directly to each polarized mirror 802, which in turn reflect a portionof light 804 at a first polarization through the front substrate 810 andproduce the picture element that forms the virtual image 812 seen by theeye 234 of the user. A user may view the reflected virtual image 812having the first polarization from the display/projector 806, as well asthe image 814 from the real world via the rear combiner substrate 816that has a second different polarization forming respective opticalelement 180A and 180B, as shown in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 9 depicts a high-level functional block diagram including exampleelectronic components disposed in eyewear 100 and 200. The illustratedelectronic components include the processor 932, the memory 934, and thesee-through image display 180C and 180D.

Memory 934 includes instructions for execution by processor 932 toimplement functionality of eyewear 100/200, including instructions forprocessor 932 to control in the image 715. Processor 932 receives powerfrom battery (not shown) and executes the instructions stored in memory934, or integrated with the processor 932 on-chip, to performfunctionality of eyewear 100/200, and communicating with externaldevices via wireless connections.

A user interface adjustment system 900 includes a wearable device, whichis the eyewear device 100 with an eye movement tracker 213 (e.g., shownas infrared emitter 215 and infrared camera 220 in FIG. 2B). Userinterface adjustments system 900 also includes a mobile device 990 and aserver system 998 connected via various networks. Mobile device 990 maybe a smartphone, tablet, laptop computer, access point, or any othersuch device capable of connecting with eyewear device 100 using both alow-power wireless connection 925 and a high-speed wireless connection937. Mobile device 990 is connected to server system 998 and network995. The network 995 may include any combination of wired and wirelessconnections.

Eyewear device 100 includes at least two visible light cameras 114A-B(one associated with the left lateral side 170A and one associated withthe right lateral side 170B). Eyewear device 100 further includes twosee-through image displays 180C-D of the optical assembly 180A-B (oneassociated with the left lateral side 170A and one associated with theright lateral side 170B). Eyewear device 100 also includes image displaydriver 942, image processor 912, low-power circuitry 920, and high-speedcircuitry 930. The components shown in FIG. 9 for the eyewear device 100are located on one or more circuit boards, for example a PCB or flexiblePCB, in the temples. Alternatively, or additionally, the depictedcomponents can be located in the temples, frames, hinges, or bridge ofthe eyewear device 100. Left and right visible light cameras 114A-B caninclude digital camera elements such as a complementarymetal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor, charge coupled device, alens, or any other respective visible or light capturing elements thatmay be used to capture data, including images of scenes with unknownobjects.

Eye movement tracking programming 945 implements the user interfacefield of view adjustment instructions, including, to cause the eyeweardevice 100 to track, via the eye movement tracker 213, the eye movementof the eye of the user of the eyewear device 100. Other implementedinstructions (functions) cause the eyewear device 100 to determine, afield of view adjustment to the initial field of view of an initialdisplayed image based on the detected eye movement of the usercorresponding to a successive eye direction. Further implementedinstructions generate a successive displayed image of the sequence ofdisplayed images based on the field of view adjustment. The successivedisplayed image is produced as visible output to the user via the userinterface. This visible output appears on the see-through image displays180C-D of optical assembly 180A-B, which is driven by image displaydriver to present the sequence of displayed images, including theinitial displayed image with the initial field of view and thesuccessive displayed image with the successive field of view.

As shown in FIG. 9, high-speed circuitry 930 includes high-speedprocessor 932, memory 934, and high-speed wireless circuitry 936. In theexample, the image display driver 942 is coupled to the high-speedcircuitry 930 and operated by the high-speed processor 932 in order todrive the left and right image displays 180C-D of the optical assembly180A-B, including the polarized mirrors 802 of display 800 shown in FIG.8. The image display driver 942 selectively controls each mirror 802 ofsee-through display 800 to produce the virtual image. High-speedprocessor 932 may be any processor capable of managing high-speedcommunications and operation of any general computing system needed foreyewear device 100. High-speed processor 932 includes processingresources needed for managing high-speed data transfers on high-speedwireless connection 937 to a wireless local area network (WLAN) usinghigh-speed wireless circuitry 936. In certain examples, the high-speedprocessor 932 executes an operating system such as a LINUX operatingsystem or other such operating system of the eyewear device 100 and theoperating system is stored in memory 934 for execution. In addition toany other responsibilities, the high-speed processor 932 executing asoftware architecture for the eyewear device 100 is used to manage datatransfers with high-speed wireless circuitry 936. In certain examples,high-speed wireless circuitry 936 is configured to implement Instituteof Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 communicationstandards, also referred to herein as Wi-Fi. In other examples, otherhigh-speed communications standards may be implemented by high-speedwireless circuitry 936.

Low-power wireless circuitry 924 and the high-speed wireless circuitry936 of the eyewear device 100 can include short range transceivers(Bluetooth™) and wireless wide, local, or wide area network transceivers(e.g., cellular or WiFi). Mobile device 990, including the transceiverscommunicating via the low-power wireless connection 925 and high-speedwireless connection 937, may be implemented using details of thearchitecture of the eyewear device 100, as can other elements of network995.

Memory 934 includes any storage device capable of storing various dataand applications, including, among other things, color maps, camera datagenerated by the left and right visible light cameras 114A-B and theimage processor 912, as well as images generated for display by theimage display driver 942 on the see-through image displays 180C-D of theoptical assembly 180A-B. While memory 934 is shown as integrated withhigh-speed circuitry 930, in other examples, memory 934 may be anindependent standalone element of the eyewear device 100. In certainsuch examples, electrical routing lines may provide a connection througha chip that includes the high-speed processor 932 from the imageprocessor 912 or low-power processor 922 to the memory 934. In otherexamples, the high-speed processor 932 may manage addressing of memory934 such that the low-power processor 922 will boot the high-speedprocessor 932 any time that a read or write operation involving memory934 is needed.

Server system 998 may be one or more computing devices as part of aservice or network computing system, for example, that include aprocessor, a memory, and network communication interface to communicateover the network 995 with the mobile device 990 and eyewear device 100.Eyewear device 100 is connected with a host computer. For example, theeyewear device 100 is paired with the mobile device 990 via thehigh-speed wireless connection 937 or connected to the server system 998via the network 995.

Output components of the eyewear device 100 include visual components,such as the left and right image displays 180C-D of optical assembly180A-B as described in FIGS. 2C-D (e.g., a display such as a liquidcrystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), a light emittingdiode (LED) display, a projector, or a waveguide). The image displays180C-D of the optical assembly 180A-B are driven by the image displaydriver 942. The output components of the eyewear device 100 furtherinclude acoustic components (e.g., speakers), haptic components (e.g., avibratory motor), other signal generators, and so forth. The inputcomponents of the eyewear device 100, the mobile device 990, and serversystem 998, may include alphanumeric input components (e.g., a keyboard,a touch screen configured to receive alphanumeric input, a photo-opticalkeyboard, or other alphanumeric input components), point-based inputcomponents (e.g., a mouse, a touchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motionsensor, or other pointing instruments), tactile input components (e.g.,a physical button, a touch screen that provides location and force oftouches or touch gestures, or other tactile input components), audioinput components (e.g., a microphone), and the like.

Eyewear device 100 may optionally include additional peripheral deviceelements 919. Such peripheral device elements may include biometricsensors, additional sensors, or display elements integrated with eyeweardevice 100. For example, peripheral device elements 919 may include anyI/O components including output components, motion components, positioncomponents, or any other such elements described herein. The eyeweardevice 100 can take other forms and may incorporate other types offrameworks, for example, a headgear, a headset, or a helmet.

For example, the biometric components of the user interface field ofview adjustment 900 include components to detect expressions (e.g., handexpressions, facial expressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, oreye tracking), measure biosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate,body temperature, perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person(e.g., voice identification, retinal identification, facialidentification, fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogrambased identification), and the like. The motion components includeacceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensorcomponents, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth.The position components include location sensor components to generatelocation coordinates (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receivercomponent), WiFi or Bluetooth™ transceivers to generate positioningsystem coordinates, altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters orbarometers that detect air pressure from which altitude may be derived),orientation sensor components (e.g., magnetometers), and the like. Suchpositioning system coordinates can also be received over wirelessconnections 925 and 937 from the mobile device 990 via the low-powerwireless circuitry 924 or high-speed wireless circuitry 936.

According to some examples, an “application” or “applications” areprogram(s) that execute functions defined in the programs. Variousprogramming languages can be employed to produce one or more of theapplications, structured in a variety of manners, such asobject-oriented programming languages (e.g., Objective-C, Java, or C++)or procedural programming languages (e.g., C or assembly language). In aspecific example, a third party application (e.g., an applicationdeveloped using the ANDROID™ or IOS™ software development kit (SDK) byan entity other than the vendor of the particular platform) may bemobile software running on a mobile operating system such as IOS™,ANDROID™, WINDOWS® Phone, or another mobile operating systems. In thisexample, the third-party application can invoke API calls provided bythe operating system to facilitate functionality described herein.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart 1000 illustrating the operation of thesee-through display 800 of FIG. 8A by the high-speed processor 932executing instructions stored in memory 934.

At block 1002, the processor 932 instructs the display/projector 806 toproduce an image that is unpolarized. In another example, the image maybe polarized to match the polarization of the mirrors 802. Thedisplay/projector 806 can comprise any image generator. Optionally, thelight is polarized to match the polarization of the mirrors 802.

At block 1004, the light from display/projector 806 is directed to themirrors 802 via the inside surface of the front substrate 810 and theoptically powered surface 808 as shown in FIG. 8A. The light stayswithin the display 800 until reflected by the mirrors 802 toward theuser.

At block 1006, the mirrors 802 individually reflect impinging light 804and produce the virtual image. The mirrors 802 have the firstpolarization and only reflect light 804 at the first polarization. Themirrors 802 are not visible to the eye when they are not reflectinglight. The image 814 from the real world passes through the rearcombiner substrate 812 at a second polarization is always viewable tothe user.

The method of operation of the example shown in FIG. 8B is similar,wherein the optically powered element is proximate the image generator.

It will be understood that the terms and expressions used herein havethe ordinary meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions withrespect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and studyexcept where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.Relational terms such as first and second and the like may be usedsolely to distinguish one entity or action from another withoutnecessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or orderbetween such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,”“includes,” “including,” or any other variation thereof, are intended tocover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article,or apparatus that comprises or includes a list of elements or steps doesnot include only those elements or steps but may include other elementsor steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus. An element preceded by “a” or “an” does not,without further constraints, preclude the existence of additionalidentical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus thatcomprises the element.

Unless otherwise stated, any and all measurements, values, ratings,positions, magnitudes, sizes, and other specifications that are setforth in this specification, including in the claims that follow, areapproximate, not exact. Such amounts are intended to have a reasonablerange that is consistent with the functions to which they relate andwith what is customary in the art to which they pertain. For example,unless expressly stated otherwise, a parameter value or the like mayvary by as much as ±10% from the stated amount.

In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen thatvarious features are grouped together in various examples for thepurpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is notto be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed examplesrequire more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather,as the following claims reflect, the subject matter to be protected liesin less than all features of any single disclosed example. Thus, thefollowing claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subjectmatter.

While the foregoing has described what are considered to be the bestmode and other examples, it is understood that various modifications maybe made therein and that the subject matter disclosed herein may beimplemented in various forms and examples, and that they may be appliedin numerous applications, only some of which have been described herein.It is intended by the following claims to claim any and allmodifications and variations that fall within the true scope of thepresent concepts.

What is claimed is:
 1. Eyewear, comprising: a frame having a first sideand a second side; an image generator configured to generate lightforming an image; a see-through display supported by the frame, thesee-through display having a plurality of mirrors aligned vertically andconfigured to reflect the light, wherein the plurality of mirrors areconfigured to reflect a first polarization and transmit a secondpolarization and wherein the image generator is positioned directlyabove the plurality of mirrors; a polarized rear substrate configured topass light from outside the eyewear at the second polarization that isdifferent than the first polarization; a front substrate configured topass both the light having the first polarization that is reflected bythe plurality of mirrors and the light from outside the eyewear via therear substrate having the second polarization; and a reflector directlyopposed the image generator, wherein the light from the image generatoris configured to reflect from the front substrate to the reflector andfrom the reflector to the plurality of mirrors.
 2. The eyewear of claim1, wherein the see-through display comprises a pinhole mirror display.3. The eyewear of claim 1, wherein the image generator is configured togenerate the light having a first polarization.
 4. The eyewear of claim1, wherein the plurality of mirrors comprise polarized beam splitters.5. The eyewear of claim 4, wherein the polarized beam splitters comprisewire grid polarizers.
 6. The eyewear of claim 1, wherein the rearsubstrate comprises a combiner substrate.
 7. The eyewear of claim 6,wherein the rear substrate comprises an absorptive polarizer.
 8. Theeyewear of claim 1, wherein the reflector is an optically poweredsurface.
 9. The eyewear of claim 1, wherein the image generatorcomprises a display.
 10. A method for use with eyewear, the eyewearhaving a frame, an image generator configured to generate light formingan image, a see-through display supported by the frame, the see-throughdisplay having a plurality of mirrors aligned vertically and configuredto reflect the light, wherein the plurality of mirrors reflect light ofa first polarization and transmit light of a second polarization, wherethe image generator is positioned directly above the plurality ofmirrors, a polarized rear substrate configured to pass light fromoutside the eyewear at the second polarization that is different thanthe first polarization, a front substrate configured to pass both thelight having the first polarization that is reflected by the pluralityof mirrors and the light from outside the eyewear via the polarized rearsubstrate, and a reflector directly opposed the image generator, whereinthe light from the image generator is configured to reflect from thefront substrate to the reflector and from the reflector to the pluralityof mirrors, comprising: the image generator generating the light andforming the image; the reflector reflecting the light from the frontsubstrate; the plurality of mirrors reflecting the light having thefirst polarization from the reflector; and the rear substrate passinglight from outside the eyewear at the second polarization that isdifferent from the first polarization.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the see-through display comprises a pinhole mirror display. 12.The method of claim 10, wherein the image generator generates the lighthaving a first polarization.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein theplurality of mirrors are polarized beam splitters.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the polarized beam splitters are wire grid polarizers.15. The method of claim 10, wherein the rear substrate comprises acombiner substrate.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the rearsubstrate comprises an absorptive polarizer.
 17. The method of claim 10,wherein the reflector is an optically powered surface.
 18. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the image generator comprises a display.
 19. Eyewear,comprising: a frame having a first side and a second side; an imagegenerator configured to generate light forming an image; a see-throughdisplay supported by the frame, the see-through display having aplurality of mirrors configured to reflect the light, wherein theplurality of mirrors are aligned vertically and are configured toreflect a first polarization and transmit a second polarization; wherethe image generator is positioned directly above the plurality ofmirrors and is configured to direct the generated light directly throughan optically powered element to the plurality of mirrors; a polarizedrear substrate configured to pass light from outside the eyewear at thesecond polarization that is different than the first polarization; and afront substrate configured to pass both the light having the firstpolarization that is reflected by the plurality of mirrors and the lightfrom outside the eyewear via the rear substrate having the secondpolarization.